The Portland daily press., 1887-05-10
THE WAYS OF sNIPE.
Some Valuable Suggestions for the
Sportsman's Benefit.

The snipe come much earlier than most
people suppose-often when the weather is
severely cold and the meadows are covered
with ice, says writer in the New York SUM-
They drop down from their aerial voyage at
night, and as long as the weather remains
cold they skulk about under the bogs and
hide like rail birds. But when the weather
gets warmer they begin to try their wings,
Tipping from one wet spot to another in
search of food. This consists of worms and
grubs, with an occasional leech. Dory says
that frequently snipe will bore over fifty
times in the mud without striking worm.
When snipe do strike them rich their appe-
tite seems Unsuitable. They will suck down
thirty to forty in quick succession, which
makes their chests stick out in front of the
wriggling meal. After stufdng in this way,
their sides on the ground. but they resort to
the latter manner of resting only when the
ground is warm. 1t takes sRipe about an
nour to digest a meal Of % angle worms. He
then is hungry again, and goes poking about
for more. When the snipe first come on they
are thin, but in two days. on an abundant
diet they become quite plump. When feed
ing together. the males, at times, become
quite pugnacious, and spar at each other
with their long slender bills Should the
moon happen to be near the full, the birds
pair off and mate while on their way north
Then there will be eggs found in every hen
that is shot But If there is no moon these
rowing pilgrims toward the, pole.pursue their
love-making in the fading light of day.
At this time the male springs from behind
the bog. where he has lain incog. during the
noontide, and begins circling the meadow at
tremendous pace. Suddenly he darts high
in the air, only to swoop down again with
wings aklmbo, which causes curious vibra-
tinn in tho air q trQmnl0uS gOnnd which r.
not be well described. 1t is quick success
ion Of sounds repeated some to 10 times.
Old ornithologists term this sound made by
the snipe drumming" but the description
does not fill the bill. When Mistress Snlpe
hears this novel serenade, which actually is
the cock birds love CALL she, too, darts uD-
ward, and with spiral circles joins him in his
rounds about; at the same time following
him in the waves of his flight uttering the
while a guttural ss"kek-kek-kek -kek-kek. "
At times tine two birds twist and turn about
each other only few feet apart. Then by
some erratic ordinations they veer apart,
and seem to play at hide and seek
scure the moon. Then, when lost to sight,
they suddenly come plumb down, skirt the
burnt tussocks bristling with the charred
| stumps of grass, with quick flip up, p0ise
| in the air for second, and then, with wings
movement into the bogs. On dark days the
| snipe will frequently resort to these ma
| n@uvres when disturbed.
| At such times they are very wary and hard
to approach. Owing to the miry condition
| of the grourd and the uncertain footing,
! wild snipe are difficult to kill. They will
lead an enthusiastic sportsman will o the
| wisp dance for miles, rising innumerable
times just out of shot, and iibing him with
their shrill ''skeap! skeapp" While all this
| is very tantallizing to the fagged-out sports
man, it still frequently leads him to some
| out of the way nook, where otherwise he
| would not have gone, and where many snipe
have congregated. This is in some sheltered
| cove to the windward side of the marsh, for
like all water fowl, the snipe make theil
flights and settle to rest against the wind.